Harbinger

Since the Middle Ages, kings and queens have saved a lot of money by bunking with the constituency-- aristocratic allies around the country. The king sent a harbinger ahead-- a rider to announce that the King is coming, so stock up your larders (and lock up your daughters). It was a huge expenditure to feed and entertain the court, and the political rewards were almost worth it.

Remember a couple of weeks ago when I spotted a rusty blackbird on the feeders for one day? Well, he must have been a scout, because all his rowdy friends came over tonight.

An hour before sundown, I was making salad with panko chicken and hoisin dressing for our dinner. I heard the crows raising a ruckus but thought little of it. They talk a lot when they are making passes at the suet trays. However, I didn't actually see the crows. Just heard them.

An hour later, just before sundown, when we sat down to dinner on the back porch, Bob said, WHOA, look at the feeders. They were covered with rusty blackbirds. At least thirty of them, talking in their low squeaky voices, sounding like swings on playground a block away, behaving more politely than the crows who had been complaining about them. The only other birds inconvenienced by them were the mourning doves (the cows, who sit and graze on the trays). The rusty blackbirds moved through quickly and the cardinals returned for their bedtime snack.